Get Long, Get Strong, Train Hard
Open a new range, lock it in, then load it until it's normal
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 88%
Cressey organizes training around a Charlie Weingroth line: get long, get strong, train hard. 'Get long' is creating a range-of-motion change, transient or more permanent, via positional breathing, self-myofascial release, or a mobility drill. 'Get strong' is immediately using an exercise that holds that new range under load so the nervous system does not throw it away — his example is a mobility drill for the thoracic spine followed by a kettlebell arm bar to own the new position. 'Train hard' is then doing enough volume with enough load that the body perceives the range as normal and keeps it. He notes the industry only fights about the first phase (does manual therapy work, is positional breathing worthwhile) while agreeing on the other two roughly 99% of the time, which is why people miss that all three are required for a change to last.
Origin
Cressey credits the phrase 'get long, get strong, train hard' to coach Charlie Weingroth and uses it as the organizing logic of his own and his athletes' programs.
Core principles
- 01Mobility gained but never loaded is a change your nervous system will discard
- 02The three phases are sequential, not interchangeable
- 03Most training arguments are only about the first phase; the other two are near-universally agreed
- 04The body holds a new range only when it perceives that range as normal under load
How to run it
- 1
Get long
Create a range-of-motion change with a targeted warm-up: soft-tissue work on a specific area, a positional breathing drill, then a mobility drill for the joint you want to open.
Pro tip Be targeted — don't spend time on areas that don't need it.
Watch out A transient range change that you never load will not last.
- 2
Get strong
Immediately load the new range with an exercise that forces the body to hold that position, such as a kettlebell arm bar after a thoracic mobility drill.
Pro tip Pair each 'long' drill with a 'strong' movement that owns the same position.
- 3
Train hard
Do substantial volume with ample load so the body perceives the new range as normal and retains it.
Pro tip This is where the change is consolidated — don't cut the working sets short.
Watch out Loading a bad or un-opened pattern magnifies it instead of fixing it.
In the wild
To make a new range stick, Cressey pairs a thoracic-spine mobility drill (get long) with a kettlebell arm bar to hold the position under load (get strong), then follows with meaningful training volume (train hard).
→ The new range of motion is retained rather than lost after the session.
Common mistakes
Chasing mobility that never gets loaded
Endless stretching or drills without loading the new range means the nervous system discards the gain and you are back to baseline the next day.
Arguing only about phase one
The industry burns energy debating how to create a transient range change while ignoring that the loading phases are what make it permanent.
Is it for you?
Best for
Lifters, athletes, and desk-bound trainees who want mobility gains to become permanent.
Not ideal for
Someone with an undiagnosed acute injury who needs clinical assessment before loading anything.
From the transcript
“get long right is create a transient or more permanent change to range of motion”
“train hard now I'm going to do quite a bit of volume with ample load to make my brain my body perceive it as normal…”
From the episode
#675: Eric Cressey, Cressey Sports Performance — Tactical Deep Dive on Back Pain, Movement Diagnosis, Training Principles, Developing Mobility, Building Power, Fascial Manipulation, and Rules for Athletes